Wagner's Lohengrin: the genesis of the Act I Finale

Kerry Vann

The Act I Finale is one of the most interesting sections of Lohengrin from a sketch study viewpoint. Many revisions can be seen in the extant sketches and drafts,l which provide evidence that Wagner had a great deal of difficulty with this passage, particularly with its close. The most useful of Wagner's surviving documents is the First Complete Draft of the work. A comparison of this draft with the final published score2 reveals passages which were changed substantially from the first conception to the final product, one such passage being the Act I Finale. Self-evidently, it is these sections which render the most valuable material for a genesis study, and when additional supplementary sketches are also extant, such passages become even more absorbing as the focus of a source study.

Fortunately, there are several surviving documents for the Finale. A similarly comprehensive amount of extant material exists for much of the rest of Lohengrin. Six of the twenty-one sheets of the First Complete Draft are lost? however, largely due to the fact that the First Complete Draft was not bound together, unlike the Second Complete Draft or the Partitur. This amount of extant material is fairly typical for Wagner's works. Although Wagner did not attach much importance to

his compositional material once a work had been com- pleted, he frequently gave documents away as souve- nirs to friends and patrons. Since the people of Wagner's time were highly conscious of their cultural heritage and the importance of such documentary material, many of Wagner's working papers have ~urv ived .~ Unfortu- nately, this practice of presenting manuscripts to indi- viduals has also resulted in the loss of some material and the scattering of the extant material. While the majority of the documents are housed in the Wagner Archive in Bayreuth, the remaining material is housed in different collections throughout the world. These problems were mitigated in the last twenty years of the composer's life, since Wagner's second wife Cosima carefully collected and preserved her husband's working material.

The documents that willbe examined in the present case study are the Verse Draft, First Complete Draft, short score sketch, chorus sketch, Second Complete Draft, Partitur and two supplementary sketches on separate sheets. While the Prose Draft is extant, it has little relevance to the present discussion. Details of the documents for study are listed in the table below.5

As Wagner's usual practice was to write the vari- ous drafts of his works in ink, all of these drafts were

First Wri t ing of the Verse Draft Location: ~sterreichische National Bibliothek, Vienna (loaned by Hans Peter Wertitsch); photocopy in

Nationalarchive der Richard-Wagner-Stiftung (A11 b7). Physical Description: quarto sheets; 8 Bogen = 32 sides (30 written on); written in ink; includes numerous revisions

and corrections; page numbering in an unknown hand 1-16. Date: written between August and November 1845

First Complete Draft Folio FLV Location: Nationalarchive der Richard-Wagner-Stiftung (A11 b2) Physical Description: 38 cm x 28 M cm, 29 staves ruled on each side, single sheet; mainly written in ink, some pencil;

page numbering in Wagner's hand on the recto side only. Date: The entire First Complete Draft was written between 15 May and 30 July 1846.

short score sketch Location: Nationalarchive der Richard-Wagner-Stiftung (A11 b3 (1) I11 lrkv). Physical Description: 2 sides used for this section, unbound quarto-size sheets, 21 staves per side; written in pencil, some ink; page numbering in an unknown hand. Date: between the First and Second Complete Drafts.

chorus sketch Location: Nationalarchive der Richard-Wagner-Stiftung (A11 b3(1) I11 zrkv, I11 3'kv, 111 4'). Physical Description: 5 sides used for this section, unbound quarto-size sheets, 21 staves per side; mainly pencil,

some ink; page numbering in an unknown hand. Date: probably immediately prior to writing the corresponding section in the Second Complete Draft.

Second Complete Draft Pages 31-38 Location: Nationalarchive der Richard-Wagner-Stiftung (A11 b4). Physical Description: 142 sides (134 written on), bound quarto-size sheets; 21 or 22 staves per side; mainly ink,

occasional pencil; Actwise Bogen numbering (excluding the Prelude) in Wagner's hand, page numbering in an unknown hand.

Date: Act I completed on 8 June 1847.

Partitur Location: Nationalarchive der Richard-Wagner-Stiftung (A11 c). Physical Description: 402 sides (401 written on), bound quarto-size sheets; written in ink; page numbering in

Wagner's hand. Date: 1 January 1848-28 April 1848.

supplementary sketches These were mostly written in vacant spaces on the pages listed above. Only two supplementary sketches are on separate sheets.

Example 1 c: Location: Nationalarchive der Richard-Wagner-Stiftung (A11 b3(4) IIIV)

I Physical Description: single sheet 26 x 17 cm with two cut-out segments (upper right 8'/, x l1/,cm, lower right 11 x 2% cm); page numbering in an unknown hand.

Example 3e: Location: Nationalarchive der Richard-Wagner-Stiftung (A11 b3(4) 111') Physical Description: single sheet 26 x 17 cm with two cut-out segments (upper left 81/,x l1/,crn, lower left 11 x

2% cm), page numbering in an unknown hand. - -

All of the original documents above were examined by the author in the Wagner Archive in Bayreuth. In the case of the Verse Draft, the photocopy housed by the archive was consulted. The documents are reproduced here with the kind permission of the Nationalarchive der Richard-Wagner-Stiflung.

written in this'medium. While many of the supple- mentary sketches, too, were written in ink, both the short score sketch and chorus sketch for the Act I Finale were written in pencil. This may indicate that they were short-term, interim documents which could have been made as he worked on the Second Com- plete Draft.

While most of these compositional stages occur in some form for all of Wagner's works, the presence of the short score and chorus sketches is unusual. The short score sketch was necessary due to the consider- able trouble Wagner had with the Finale in the First Complete Draft. He used this additional compositional stage to collate all the successful ideas so that he had a clear, continuous outline of the passage from which he could work on the individual vocal parts. As this was a short-term, intermediate document he did not in- clude any text in the short score sketch.

The presence of the chorus sketch highlights the importance of the lengthy and intricate choruses which are a feature of Lohengrin. Although large choruses had appeared in Wagner's earlier works, especially in Rienzi, they were relatively simple and homophonic, whereas

in Lohengrin complex double choruses in eight parts were employed. The music for the male chorus in particular was highly elaborate, indicating the influ- ence of the choral works which had been commis- sioned from Wagner during his time in ~ r e s d e n . ~

Wagner made supplementary sketches for all of the large choruses in Acts I and I1 before proceeding to the Second Complete Draft. Of these, the sketches for the Act I1 choruses are the most extensive. Joined together, they amount to a practically continuous draft in them- selves for Scenes 3 to 5. Since the role of the chorus is much less important in Act 111, Wagner presumably considered that no such sketches were necessary for this act. Another function of the chorus sketches was to set the principal vocal ensembles. While the text for all the characters had been worked out in the Verse Draft, the First Complete Draft had set only the primary melody and bass lines. Additional sketches, therefore, were necessary to set the remaining principal lines for the first time. The lines for Lohengrin and Friedrich in the Act I Finale demonstrate this point since they were introduced much earlier in the chorus sketch than they are in the score.

14 Context 12 (Summer 1996)

The reason that Wagner made so many sketches and drafts for the Finale is twofold. A study of the composer's working materials reveals that his usual practice was to compose in layers, a method which will be discussed later in this paper. In addition, it would appear that Wagner frequently had difficulty with the close of a section or a scene. The Act I Finale provides an excellent example of such a problem. In this in- stance, much of the difficulty arose due to Wagner's expansion of the role of the chorus. Although the text had been fully drafted in the Verse Draft, when he began composing the music Wagner decided that the Finale would be more effective and provide a stronger close to the act if the chorus were allocated a greater role. He therefore drafted much of the music in the First Complete Draft without text and only later devised the new text, a highly unusual practice in Wagner's compositional process.

The most significant document for the present case study is the First Complete Draft. Many passages in the First Complete Draft underwent significant revision, suggesting that Wagner was uncertain of the Finale material. Indeed, in some places there are several dif- ferent versions of the same material within this one compositional stage. Numerous sections were crossed out and redrafted, while other sections were indicated only by a series of chords or single bass notes. Replace- ment material either occurred immediately after the first version, or appeared in separate supplementary sketches elsewhere on the page. Wagner was appar- ently sometimes unsure of the direction to take and postponed solving the problem until he had completed as much of the Finale as possible.

Before making an examination of some representa- tive examples of individual sections of the Finale, it is helpful to understand the overall plan of the passage and to perceive some of the problems Wagner encoun- tered with it in the First Complete Draft. The Finale occurs directly after Lohengrin's fight with Friedrich von Telramund. Earlier in the Act, Friedrich accused Elsa of murdering her younger brother. Lohengrin appeared magically to act as her champion and was victorious in the fight. In the Finale, all the characters express their feelings at the present moment: Elsa sings of her joy and relief, Lohengrin states that it was through Elsa's innocence that he was victorious, Friedrich and his wife Ortrud despair due to their lost

I honour and hope and the King and chorus hail Lohengrin as a great hero. The Finale comprises three distinct sections: the first section in BL major (52 bars), the second in D major (19 bars) and the third again in I3b major (81 bars). The first and the third sections commence with a jubilant theme for Elsa, while the

second introduces a robust contrasting theme which is sometimes labelled the 'fame' or 'glory'motive. Within all three sections numerous revisions occurred.

Wagner appears to have had the least difficulty with the first section of the Finale. Here only two sections of Elsa's opening material were crossed out and subse- quently revised. The D major section presented him with many more problems. Indeed, the whole section in the main body of the draft was crossed out and only formulated later in several supplementary sketches at the bottom of the page. The third section presented the composer with the greatest obstacles. Althoughmuch of the final material is present in the draft, some passages were only later devised in supplementary sketches, while others are indicated merely by the presence of chords or single bass notes. There are also several signs marked above the stave to indicate where the music should cut to elsewhere on the page, as Wagner tried to establish the order of the material. Eventually the music simply ceases, suggesting that Wagner could not yet decide how to end the act.

In general, Wagner wrote his libretti before he composed the music. The Act 1 Finale of Lohengrin is an interesting exception to this rule. In most of the Finale, Wagner initially composed the music independently of the text. In formulating the musical direction of the passage the text was discarded, since he realized he could determine the position of the individual vocal lines at a later compositional stage. One of the reasons that he adopted this technique may have been that the chorus text was significantly expanded between the Verse Draft and the Partitur. In addition, the ensemble and chorus writing in the Finale is amongst the most complex of the entire opera.

In the First Complete Draft, the short score sketch and the chorus sketch, there are several places which indicate that Wagner worked out the final version of the text for the passage only after the music had been written. Long notes, such as semibreves, frequently occurred at phrase ends where, in the score, two or three shorter notes occur. In the First Complete Draft often no text appeared beneath such notes. In the chorus sketch, the long note values sometimes were altered to two or three shorter note values after the text had been formulated and writtenbeneath the music or, in other places, a two-syllable word was written under a single long note. In addition, there are several in- stances in the chorus sketch where Wagner wrote in a line of text, only to cross it out and replace it with anew version, which further indicates that he devised the text as he worked out the detail of the music.

An examination of the sketches and drafts reveals that Wagner's usual method of composition was to

Wagner's Lohengrin

la) First Com

plete Draft (Facsim

ile 1, system 8)

lb) short score sketch (Facsimile 3, system

1)

lc) supplementary sketch (Facsim

ile 7) [KT

Id) chorus sketch (Facsimile 5, system

1)

compose in layers. In the First Complete Draft, the text was set in a basic outline on two staves and the melody and chordal sequences were worked out. Once this initial outline was established, the function of the Sec- ond Complete Draft was the working out of the accom- paniment. Finally, in the Partitur, the individual or- chestral parts were written out. At each successive compositional stage one specific element was added to the previous material, so that the music was built gradually, layer by layer, until the final product was achieved. Once a layer had been developed, it rarely underwent significant change at a later stage.

The introduction to the Finale provides an example of Wagner's layer technique. While the Finale is in ~b major, the previous section, the fightbetween Lohengrin and Friedrich, concludes in A major. In the First Com- plete Draft the new key was introduced at the begin- ning of the transition section (Example la, bar 1). At this stage, the transition comprised only four bars, but Wagner evidently felt that a longer section was needed as he placed a set of repeat dots at the end of the fourth bar (Example la, bar 4) to lengthen the passage to eight bars. Although the chorus is present at this point in the score, Wagner did not include the chorus in the First Complete Draft since no text for the chorus appears either here or in the Verse Draft.

In the short score sketch (Example lb) Wagner extended the transition to seven bars7 and elaborated the accompaniment by introducing a quaver figure in the upper part which is the germ of the idea present in the score. The change of key signature was delayed until the end of the transition (Example lb, bar 8) to allow a more comfortable resolution from the previous cadence and perhaps also to reflect the drama. The delayed resolution of tension after the fight served to intensify the impact of Elsa's joyful outburst. The unex- pected harmonic shift also reflected the surprising appearance of Lohengrin as her champion.

At this stage Wagner made a supplementary sketch (Example lc) for these few bars. The primary function of this supplementary sketch was to work out the syncopated bass line of the passage. The material was corrected to eight bars and the upper line contains a repeated pattern derived from the quavers appearing in bar 6 of the short score sketch. In this sketch the chorus voices are indicated for the first time and are represented by block chords with a single word of text, 'Sieg' (Example lc, bar 1). The harmonic progression outlined by the quavers in the previous version was discarded in favour of sustaining the first chord for eight bars. This is somewhat unusual, since Wagner's harmonic progressions usually move from the simple

to the more complicated. Only rarely is a more complex progression discarded in favour of a more simple one. In this instance, Wagner seems to have decided that a single chord was harmonically stronger and provided a better preparation for the Finale than a chromatic harmonic progression.

The chorus sketch (Example Id) is an even more precise version. It outlines the treble motive and the syncopated bass arpeggio from the supplementary sketch, while the vocal parts are added in full. Wagner's attention to detail is evident here, with the precise placement of rests indicating exactly how long the singers have to breathe. Now that the music was more fully formed, he also began to include some stage directions, one of which can been seen beneath bar 1.

The Second Complete Draft is almost identical to the chorus sketch. Here anote for the King was inserted and a final flourish was added to the upper accompanimental line as it moved into the new key. As usual, Wagner wrote only the first violin part as the upper line. The Partitur was the first version which included the violins and winds alternating the first violin motive.

In the middle of the Finale Wagner inserted a short passage which provided a contrasting key and intro- duced new material in the form of a strong melody sung by the lower voices of the chorus. While this central section numbers only nineteen bars out of the total 160 bars of the Finale, it is a section that gave Wagner great difficulty. He made three versions of this passage, two in succession within the First Complete Draft and the third towards the bottom of the page, after he had concluded the draft of the Finale, with numerous cut signs to indicate the order in which the sketches were to be used. A study of the D major passage in the First Complete Draft (Example 2) re- veals that Wagner's difficulty lay both in working out the transitions between the two keys and in inventing a strong contrasting melodic theme for the section.

The first version of the D major passage (Example 2a, bars 1-4) began with an extension of the previous melodic material. No new key signature was intro- duced; instead Wagner employed accidentals for the passage. At this stage, he had thought of introducing a contrasting key, but had not yet considered the possi- bility of introducing a new melody. As the passage continued it became melodically weak and meandered harmonically. Therefore, Wagner crossed it out and wrote a second version.

The second version (Example 2b) was a revision and extension of the melodic material from the first version and included a new harmonisation to accom-

Wagner's Lohengrin 17

2b) second version (Fascsimile 2, system

1) ,. ,

2c) third version (Facsimile 2, system

s 8-9))

2d) supplementary sketch 2 (Facsim

ile 2, last system)

a

w

2e) supplementary sketch 3 (Facsim

ile 2, last system)

modate the modifications to the melody. This second version remained in D major for longer, and in the last bars the melodic idea was discontinued while Wagner worked out the transition between the two keys. Al- though the melody was stronger in the second version, the harmonic progression was no more interesting than that of the first version.

Wagner crossed out most of the second attempt, leaving only the first four bars, which he combined with the first four bars of the first version to form the eight bars in the score immediately prior to the D major section. He inserted a sign 'F' (Example 2b, bar 4) to indicate a cut to the next section of the Finale, then continued writing the remainder of the Finale and postponed working out the D major section. When he had completed drafting the remainder of the Finale in the First Complete Draft, he worked out the D major passage in a series of supplementary sketches com- mencing on the system which immediately followed the close of the Finale. It is obvious that these sup- plementary sketches were made after, and not before, Wagner had drafted the remainder of the Finale, since he would not have known how many more systems would be required to draft the rest of the Finale.

After completing the draft of the Act, Wagner used the bottom of the page for several short sketches to fill in passages he had discarded or left incomplete. Among these sketches is the third version of the D major passage (Example 2c). Although this sketch comprises twenty-six bars, only the relevant portion (bars 1-20) appears in this paper. Here the 'fame' or 'glory' motive appeared for the first time, although some melodic elements of the two discarded versions were retained.

The first eight bars of the third version (Example 2c, bars 1-8) are virtually as they appear in the score. In the following six bars, Wagner restated Elsa's melody from the opening of the Finale, but in Cb major (bars 9- 14).~ The sketch then continued with a bridge passage which led to the retum of the 'Lohengrin' m ~ t i v e . ~ Wagner subsequently extended the D major section and, transposed Elsa's melody from Cb major to A major. He also commenced the third section of the Finale with a further statement of the Elsa material in Bb major, so that the opening of the third section would mirror the opening of the first section and provide better balance to the Finale. Due to these alterations, it then became necessary to revise the transition from the D major section to the retum of the Bb section.

Two further sketches appear at the bottom of the gage. In these two sketches Wagner experimented with the transition between the two keys. In the first sketch (Example 2d), much of which was crossed out, Wagner stated a fragment of Elsa's melody in various

keys (Example 2d, bars 1-6). Although he subsequently rejected the material from this sketch, the rhythmic motive in the lower line (bars 3-6) was incorporated into the Second Complete Draft in the accompaniment of the first part of the Finale at Elsa's text 'sol1 ich mich selig sehen, nimm Alles' (score figure 48: bars 13-17). In the second sketch (Example 2e) wagner successfully worked out the transition from D major to ~bmajor and the material here corresponds with the last five bars of the D major passage in the score.

All of these supplementary sketches were written to fill in problematic passages connected with the D major section from the First Complete Draft. With the addition of the supplementary sketches, Wagner had all the material necessary to commence work on the next compositional stage. In the short score sketch all of the successful supplementary sketches from the First Complete Draft were pieced together, the only changes being some slight modifications to the bass line and to the two bars preceding Elsa's melody.10 The passage remained in a sharp key, A major, for the appearance of Elsa's melody, and the transition to Bb major was successfully executed by repeating the closing bars of Elsa's melody both at the same pitch within A major and a minor third higher. In both the short score sketch and the chorus sketch,ll the key signature of Bb is maintained throughout. It was not until the Second Complete Draft that the D major section was finally written with a D major key signature.

The section marked '~chlub' in the Finale provides a typical example of Wagner's problems with a closing formula (Examples 3a and 3b). In the First Complete Draft (Example 3a) the passage appeared in only a rudimentary form. It commenced with a statement of the first six bars of the 'Lohengrin' motive, then com- bined the syncopated part of the motive with a rising melodic line to heighten the dramatic tension. The First Complete Draft version ceased after only thirteen bars and most of this material was discarded at the next compositional stage.

In the short score sketch (Example 3b) the closing section was lengthened to nineteen bars and is an accurate outline of the final version. Most of the sketch was indicated only by the melodic line, indicating that Wagner was concerned mostly with the direction of the passage. Only the first three bars of the 'Lohengrin' motive were included and the material from bar 4 clearly indicated that the entire passage was a prolon- gation of the tonic chord of Bb. In bar 11 the idea of alternating triplets was introduced as was the rising arpeggio in bars 14 and 15, although in both cases the pitches were different from those of the score.

Wagner's Lohenpin

Above bar 7of the short score sketch, Wagner wrote the sign 'x' to indicate that the music should cut to a supplementary sketch (Example 3c) below the main sketch. The supplementary sketch replaced the four bars of sustained ~b (Example 3b, bars 7-10), which Wagner may have considered somewhat dull. From bar 5 of the supplementary sketch, the melody from the D major section of the Finale was introduced. Wagner possibly felt it would be structurally forceful to repeat .

this earlier melody near the close of the Finale. When he reviewed the supplementary sketch, he presumably decided that the introduction of a more complex chord progression weakened the strong l3b tonality and that a statement of the D major melody made the orchestral close of the Finale too long. He discarded the material from the supplementary sketch, although the concept of continuous quaver movement was retained in the score at the beginning of the orchestral close.

As Wagner did not include the orchestral close of the Finale in the chorus sketch, the Second Complete Draft was the first time that all the parts were written out (Example 3d). Since the preceding orchestral mate- rial had fitted easily on two staves, Wagner continued to use two staves to draft the closing bars. However, due to the amount of detail, the system soon became cluttered as Wagner crossed out notes and wrote in alternate solutions. While Wagner's drafts were gener- ally written in ink, this passage was written in pencil, probably because he was uncertain of the content of the inner parts. Three bars (Example 3d, bars 8-10), how- ever, contain ink as well as pencil and it is the ink version that appears in the score; Wagner often wrote over a pencil version in ink, to make it clear to himself at a later stage which version of the notes he wished to use. Throughout this draft of the passage, Wagner incorporated the continuous quaver figure from the short score supplementary sketch. From bar 11 the alternating triplet figure was worked out in greater detail and from bar 12 the sextuplet figure was intro- duced for the first time.12 The combination of the triplets and sextuplets helped to propel the music forward to the final bar.

Although this passage provided an accurate outline for the score, it was difficult to read. Hence, Wagner made a clean copy of the material in a supplementary sketch on a separate sheet (Example 3e). In addition, the cello line was established (Example 3e, bars 1-4) and alternating triplets were initiated from bar 5. The final bars of the violin and cello parts were not written out (Example 3e, bars 6-11), since this was intended only as a short-term interim sketch, and these parts could be read easily from the initial version. After making the supplementary sketch, Wagner returned

to the Second Complete Draft and neatly wrote out the closing bars on four-stave systems beneath the earlier crossed-out version.

The Act I Finale of Lohengrin demonstrates a number of Wagner's characteristic compositional practices. His technique of composing in layers is clearly seen through- out the Finale. After establishing the melody and bass line, he gradually filled in the detail of the chorus voices and the inner orchestral parts. In addition, the bass line was refined from single semibreves to include more interesting rhythms and additional detail. The paramount importance Wagner attached to the me- lodic line is demonstrated repeatedly. While the initial conception of the bass line may be a mere outline or,.at times, abandoned altogether, the melodic line is writ- ten in detail from the outset. Indeed, the original and final versions are frequently the same. The significance of the melodic line is also evident in the places where Wagner ceased writing the text, the bass line and any other parts in order to concentrate fully on establishing the principal melodic material. In conjuction with the importance of the melodic line is the importance of a strong harmonic progression. In several places within the Act I Finale passages were discarded and revised because they were either melodically or harmonically weak. Also of interest is the expansion of the text; although Wagner's texts were fully formulated in the Verse Draft, he sometimes modified them as he wrote the music.

Some compositional fingerprints are demonstrated in the Finale. Wagner's use of different writing medi- ums is evident: ink was preferred for drafts arid long- term documents, while pencil was utilised for short- term interim manuscripts. That Wagner wrote the short score sketch and rewrote the close of the passage in the Second Complete Draft indicates that he consid- ered it important to have a legible and continuous document from which to make the next compositional stage. Due to his commitments as Hofkapellmeister in Dresden, he could never be sure when he would have time to continue with his composition. He therefore required clear and detailed sketches and drafts so that he could continue his composition later without strug- gling to remember his earlier intentions.

Wagner's difficulty with endings and transition sections is also exemplified in the Finale. This is evi- dent from the number of sketches and drafts required for both the central D major section and the orchestral close of the passage. In the D major section it is also interesting to observe the gradual genesis of the 'fame' or 'glory' motive, especially since Wagner's motives were usually conceived prior to the First Complete

Context 12 (Summer 1996)

Example 3: End of the Act 1 Finale

Wagner's Lohengrin

Draft and often appear, virtually in their final form, on single sheets as preliminary sketches. Wagner's ability to sketch motives in their final form is probably due to his habit of improvising at the piano to work out material before committing it to paper. Accounts of Wagner's use of the piano can be found in contempo- raneous sources such as Cosima Wagner's diaries,13 and in writings by some of Wagner's friends and acquaintances. WeiBheimer, for instance, describes the way in which Wagner made sketches at the piano, the importance for Wagner of hearing the music as he composed and'his habit of using the lid of the grand piano as a writing surface.14

From the number of compositional stages and the numerous revisions to the musical content of the pas- sage, it is evident that Wagner took great care with his composition. Given the seamlessness and apparent spontaneity of the final product, the listener is givenno indication of the difficulties experienced by the com- poser. An examination of the extant material for the Act I Finale of Lolzengrin can, therefore, provide new insights into the music and reveal, in part, the way in which Wagner worked.

End Notes The word 'sketch' generally refers to a short, supplemen-

tary or interim document. The word 'draft' is reserved for large documents, generally relating to the entire opera.

The word 'score' is used to differentiate the published version from Wagner's hand-written copy (the Partitur). Although no parts of the score are reproduced in the present article, the reader may wish to refer to the score. The word 'Partitur' is not used for the same purpose since Wagner's hand-written copy is not readily available.

Although a seventh sheet (Folio 2) is lost, a photocopy of it is extant. While fourteen sheets survive, some are held in private collections and are not available for examination.

~ o b e r t ~ a i l e ~ , 'The genesis of Tristan iind Isolde, and a study of Wagner's sketches and drafts for the first act', diss., Princeton U, 1969, p. 4.

Many of the physical descriptions are as stated in John Deathridge, Martin Geck and Egon Voss, Wagner Werk- Veneichnis: Verzeichnisderrni~sikalischen Werke Richard Wagners lind ihrer Qiiellen (Mainz: Schott, 1986). For a more detailed description this volume should be consulted. 6~nconjunction with hisduties as~ofka~ellmeister, Wagner had been required to write four large choral works for the combined male-voice choirs of Dresden. The exercise had obvious ramifications in his later operas Tannhiiiiser and particularly Lohengrin. See Jeffry Allen Jahn, 'Richard Wagner's "occasional works" for male chorus (1843-44): aspects and influences on Wagner's emerging compositional style during the Dresden years (1843-49)', DMA diss., U of Arizona, 1990, pp. 42 and 68.

Since repeat signs were used at the end of the passage in the First Complete Draft and there are eight bars in both the supplementary sketch and the chorus sketch, Wagner prob-

22 Context 12 (Summer 1996)

ably intended to write eight bars rather than seven but simply miscounted.

This suggests that Wagner originally envisaged only a short eight-bar sectionin D major, which would explain why he did not bother to alter the key signature at this stage. Indeed, no change of key signature was shown in any of the D major sketches in the First Complete Draft. Instead, accidentals were used throughout each sketch.

In supplementary sketch 1 (Example 2c) the Lohengrin motive returns considerably earlier than in the score (score figure 51: bar 13). The change was made as part of the revisions to the opening of the third section of the Finale. These revisions are not discussed here as they are far too lengthy and involved to be included in a paper of this nature.

lo The version in the short score sketch comprised the following parts of the First Complete Draft and supplemen- tary sketches in the following order: Example 2a bars 1-4, Example 2b bars 1-4, Example 2c bars 1-8 (with slight modi- fications to bars 7-8), Example 2c bars 9-14 (transposed from Cb major to A major), a repeat of Example 2c bars 13-14 (still transposed), another repeat of Example 2c bar 14 (still trans- posed), yet another repeat of Example2cbar 14 (a minor third higher, with the upper line commencing on G), and a final repeat of Example 2c bar 14 (still a minor third higher but with slight alterations to lead into the following section in BL major).

l1 The chorus sketch corresponds exactly with the short score sketch, that is with the bars listed in endnote 10. This details which portions of the First Complete Draft and the supplementary sketches were used in the subsequent compositional stages. l2 In the score, this figure appears a bar earlier, at the same time as the triplet figure. 13 For example, Cosima wrote, on 30 September 1878, that 'R[ichard] works, and at supper tells me he had been looking for [a certain]. . .passage but had then closed the piano, telling himself he must wait for inspiration.' On 27 January 1879 Wagner was quoted: '...he works; as he tells me at lunch, he spent the whole time improvising a passage.' See Cosima Wagner, Cosima Wagner's diaries, trans. Geoffrey Skelton, ed. Martin Gregor-Dellon and Dietrich Mack, vol. 2 (New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1980), p.160. l4 W. WeiBheimer, Erlebnisse mit Richard Wagner, Frarlz Liszt lind vielen anderen Zeitgenossen nebst deren Briefen, 2nd ed. (Stuttgart: Deutsche Verlags-Austatt, 1898), pp. 97-98.

Wagner's Lohengrin

Facsimile 1: First Complete Draft, sheet 5r. Nationalarchiv der Richard-Wagner-Stiftung, Bayreuth, AII b2.

I 24 Con text 12 (Silmmer 1996)

Facsimile 2: First Complete Draft, sheet 5". Nationalarchiv der Richard-Wagner-Stiftung, Bayreuth, A11 b2.

Wagner's Lohengrin 25

I ! 1 4 a " . 7 .', I 1 ! 8 . 1 , . I.+&,/* . . 1 I

r

I I ; " . I' . ' I . ' I " I'

Facsimile 3: short score sketch, sheet I11 1'. Nationalarchiv der Richard-Wagner-Stiftung, Bayreuth, A11 b

Context 12 (Summer 1996)

Facsimile 4: short score sketch, sheet 111 1". Nationalarchiv der Richard-Wagner-Stiftung. Bayreuth, A11 b3 (1).

Wagner's Lohengrin

4 - _. & - - -

Facsimile 5: chorus sketch, sheet I11 2'. Nationalarchiv der Richard-Wagner-Stiftun& Bayreuth, A11 b3 (1).

Con text 12 (Summer 1996)

Facsimile 6: Second Complete Draft, p.38. Nationalarcluv der &chard-Wagner-Stiftung, Bayreuth, A11 b4.

Wagner's Lohengrin

Facsimile 7: supplem

entary sketch, sheet IIIV. Nationalarchiv der R

ichard-Wagner-Stiftung, Bayreuth, AII b3 (4).